: First a confession- I am really a single paddle guy. I am looking to build a
: double paddle,as a second paddle,because my canoe is too tender to use
: sitting (vs kneeling) unless the seat is near the bottem and also because
: my favorate single paddle needs 3 ft of water to work properly. The
: commercial plastic doubles are ugly and the wood ones I have seen are
: heavy and loose at the ferrule. Besides I am a DIY'er so please do not
: give up me yet.

: I want to make a double like my favorate single (hashwaakpaddles.com worth a
: look because unique and they make doubles). I know the blades are going to
: get beat up in shallow water and have to be replaced maybe one to two
: years.

: So my proposal/question is why not use a carbon shaft(for light weight and
: stiffness) and hardwood blades epoxied to the shaft.Perhaps by drilling
: out a blade or cutting of an inch of shaft I can get 4 paddles out of one
: carbon shaft.The only source I know of for carbon shafts is Zeravel( any
: others?).

: The hardest question is how to do a non-wobble ferrule.I have no idea how to
: do one of the spring loaded buttons like in a commercial shaft. One way to
: do a non wobble shaft is a bolt and a speed nut (Veritas, very ugly). Any
: sugestions?

hello John

the snap buttons are available from Folbot at http://folbot.com and also from the source listed below ..not too sure about quantities but it couldn't hurt to
give them a shout..maybe they got free samples.

later
Bill